caught in the rain

[6m459]

I got caught in the rain last night on the way home. Had ridden the bike for about 25 miles in the dry, then stopped and did some shopping. When I came back out about an hour later, it was raining consistently, but not too hard, for the rest of the15 miles or so journey home.

 

The bike started up great, but one cylinder was not firing reliably at first. Presumeably this was due to effects of wetness on the high voltage components, coils, plug wires etc. I got underway on 3 sometimes 4. Once she warmed up again, after a few miles, this went away but I am thinking I should probably address this issue ASAP 'cause it will only get worse on its own.

 

As far as I know all my HV components are OEM originals and now are of course, 24 - 25 years old. Not bad lifespan but time to act, I think!

 

So, whats out there and whats possible? What do replacement OEM coils cost? Any aftermarket stuff I should know about? Are the plug wires changeable by themselves, or are they integral parts of the coil assemblies ?

 

Of course the cheapo side of me says AHH just coat everything with silicone grease and go for another 25 years of service. Whats the group's experience here ? Any one got a bike running like this with the old coils coated in silicone grease or similar ?

 

Thanks, I am looking forward to reading your always sage advice.

 

Brian H.

Uxbridge Ont

[cpudoc]

I had pretty much the same issue, I changed the wires and plugs (bought them on Ebay as a package deal) and the bike runs great!!! not real expensive either>

[dans87vr]

I just replaced Plugs, Wires, and Plug caps along with other things on my 87 VR. It made a big difference, purchased plugs from NAPA but Wires and Caps came from Dennis Kirk (denniskirk.com). Cost was minimal and I did a ohm before and after, before all 4 were around 10K and after was 5K.

 

6 foot cooper wire $2.95 x 2 (you need just over 7 feet) P/N 20-21

2 NGK straight plug ends $3.30 x 2 P/N 20-302

2 NGK angled plug ends $3.30 x 2 P/N 20-304

[GeorgeS]

The Old Plug caps--- the rubber seals get damaged with time where they seal around the Spark Plugs.

 

Plug wire is just 7MM solid core wire, you can get in bulk and most any auto parts store.

 

NGK carries a Cap, ( 5000 ohm ) much cheaper then Yamaha OEM.

 

The worst part of the job is removeing the Air filter box to get access to the Coils in order to change the wires. Your wires might be loose at the Coils.

 

Plugs avialable most any auto parts store

[Snaggletooth]

I just replaced my plug wires and caps week. Hit the parts run and got the NGK caps from a local bike supply joint for less than $5.00 each and picked up the plug wire off the bulk roll at NAPA (7mm copper wire core) for about $8.00. I cut the wires to size and slipped them into sections of plastic shielding to protect them. A little dielectric grease and back on they went. Fired up fine. After all the plug wires on the bike were only from '84. That copper core wire is a workhorse.

 

As far as coils, I haven't found a reason yet to replace one. I have three full sets all from '84 models and they all check out at specs. They are durable.

 

I see a lot of listings for the 8mm wires and from what I've tried they are too thick. You would have to ream the hole on the coil cap, and trim the ends down to make them thin enough to seat properly.

[greg_in_london]

Some people have also reported that the electronic ignition location makes it vulnerable to moisture when the rain either becomes hard, or when moisture levels rise upwards from ground level. Those people have resited their black boxes on top of the airboxes with good effect.

 

I haven't done that, as my only problem has been poor starting after parking in cold damp weather, particularly when camping, but an Odysey battery has largely solved that problem (although it has sometimes been a close call).